This invention relates generally to typewriters and word processors and to keyboards for information input systems such as small scale computer and display terminal ensembles, and more particularly, to a keyboard arrangement wherein the array of keyboard keys may be divided into at least two sections, the sections being separate from one another. In addition, this invention also relates to typewriters and word processors of the type wherein both, the reference material to be worked from and the information display, can be positioned centrally in front of the operator.
Known keyboard arrangements of the type which heretofore have been used in typewriters, computers and other business machines are arranged so that characters, numbers and symbols appear on keybuttons, or actuators, which comprise the keyboard. The keys comprising the keyboard are arranged adjacent to one another in a fairly compact grouping on what amounts to a single keyboard, the keys usually being arranged in a grouping of a plurality of straight rows which may be slightly offset from one another to form columns of keys which are not perpendicular to the rows of keys. In most business machines, the keyboard is arranged to slope generally downward towards the operator, whereby succeeding rows of keys in a direction away from the operator have incrementally higher elevations than the immediately preceding row of keys.
Certain business machines, such as typewriters and computer input keyboards are intended to be operated using the fingers of both hands, at least by a skilled operator. In such machines, where the keys are adapted to be operated by the fingertips and are therefore accordingly spaced, the operator must bring his or her hands over the keyboard, in close proximity to each other, and in a particular orientation so as generally to align the fingers with the rows of keys. From this position, the operator must depress appropriate ones of the keys with the fingertips. Particular assignments of characters, numerals and punctuation marks to specific ones of the keys have become sufficiently popular in a standardized form that an operator may learn the particular arrangement of keys and distribution of characters so that typing becomes a less mindful task, insofar as the translation of a desired character into a corresponding depression of a key is concerned. This conversion of a mentally desired item of information into a physical act which causes recording of that information is thus in the form of a desirable, learned habit so as to reduce the amount of attention and concentration required to perform that act. Thus, the mind of the operator is freed to perform other concommitant activities. The penalty for this convenience is that, for each hand, only one predetermined reference position on a particular keyboard layout is allowable, to permit the key selection process to become a learned response, with the attendant result that the positional requirement for the hands in turn dictates an uncomfortably narrow range of allowable positions for the rest of the operator's body. Further, observations of typing motions on an objective and subjective basis lead to the hypothesis that the learned motion of the fingers is performed in a relationally constructed direction away from a reference zone, and is therefore not a motion which is absolute in space. Operators of keyboards generally find reference positions for the fingers over a set of keys, four for each hand, that are termed "home row" positions. The edges of the thumbs rest on leftward and rightward portions of the laterially extending spacebar. It is a further hypothesis that the finding of a key which is not located on the home row is achieved with a learned geometric reference to the home row positioning of the particular finger to which that desired key is assigned in the learning process. An experienced operator therefore develops a mind picture of the keyboard which mind picture allows the home row location of the fingers of one hand to be reference for the fingers of the other hand. In essence, only one hand needs to be located on its home row key set, and the keys which are assigned to be operated by the other hand are immediately found by an almost continuous motion of those other fingers which come first over the home row keys and then travel to the desired key. It is therefore postulated that one hand assists in positioning the other, and the operator will accordingly keep one hand on or near its associated home row key set at times when the other hand is required to travel away from its associated set of home row keys to perform some relatively distant task. On known mechanical typewriters of the type having a moving platen carriage, one hand of the operator was often required to leave the keyboard for operating the carriage return to begin a new line. Out of habit, the other hand would hover over the associated home row keys, so that the hand which was used to return the carriage could return quickly to the appropriate position over its set of home row keys to resume the typing task.
The swiftness of such a return to home row positions in a motion which is several inches long, while the head and eyes remain aligned to the copy at the side of the typewriter suggests strongly that these motions are not guided by sight, but by a learned inter-relationship memory of the relative positions of the two home row assignment areas. The misalignment of the returning hand over keys other than the home row keys will result in the inputting of completely wrong information with that hand. Of course, removal of the wrong information from the text and substitution of the correct information is both frustrating and wasteful of time. Thus, if higher typing speeds are to be achieved, the return of the hand to the home row positions should be facilitated by providing tactile feedback to the operator. Some known information input systems utilize deeper-than-usual depressions in the top surface of each home row key, or tiny cone-shaped protrusions in the normal disc-shaped key top that gently prick the fingertip to allow home row alignment certification when the fingertips skim the key tops in a searching-for-base-reference mode.
In some known modern business equipment, such as modern computer and word processing equipment, where the information input task may consume several hours in each work day, the sloping keyboard is made to be detachable from the bulk of the equipment and connected thereto by a length of electrical or optical cable. This provides the convenience of permitting the operator to optimize, to some degree, the location and orientation of the keyboard unit. With this range of adjustment, some operators find that the heel of the hand can be rested on the front edge of the keyboard during alphabetic typing, and that the heel rest need only be abandoned for numeric or special function key depression at the extreme edges of the keyboard. In addition, European keyboard vendors have provided a keyboard with a low vertical height and a resting surface at the front thereof for communication with the underside of the wrists and these keyboard modifications now influence U.S. keyboard design. However, these resting points serve only as temporary palliatives which highlight the need for design changes in keyboard to allow either faster typing or a form of typing which does not become stressful when continued over long periods.
Prior efforts toward solving the above-mentioned problems have not been practical and in some cases have not been used at all as they neither solve as many problems for the operator as they create, nor do they overcome the learning problems intrinsic in using a keyboard which incorporates a major change in character assignment of the keys, at least in comparison to a widely used standard keyboard layout such as the Scholes/Christoper QWERTY. Apart from the teaching of the present improvement is a way of looking at the problem in a particular manner, and with such a perception, that the information presented in this disclosure is more readily understood.
It is a problem with known keyboards, including the more modern and improved keyboards described hereinabove, that an operator of such equipment must distort the natural and normal physiology of his or her body to achieve a body position which is suitable for operation of the equipment. The assumption of non-optimum physiological positions by operators of information input equipment produces tensions in the operator's muscles and joints which are tiring and fatiguing and can result in slowed typing speeds, an increase in the number of errors, and generally reduce operator productivity. Such problems are especially acute in the business environment where high productivity and accuracy in required work tasks must be maintained over large portions of a business day.
As indicated, the problems associated with conventional keyboards which increase operator fatigue and reduce operator efficiency are at least partially based upon the physiologically sub-optimum postures and positions which must be assumed by operators of such equipment. Conversely, an improvement in the physiological factors which are present at the interface between an operator and a machine would produce a corresponding increase in operator efficiency and morale. The physiological difficulties which are associated with conventional keyboards can be visualized as follows:
Reduced to its barest essentials, the human upper arm is but a radial extension which pivots about a shoulder joint. The human forearm is a further radial extension, pivoting at the wrist. Thus, a human arm and hand can be viewed as a sequence of three radial extensions. Each of these joints is operated by muscles which are activated by nerve signals, and because the muscles have attachment points near these joints, the range of achievable motion caused by such a tension or relaxation of the operating muscles limits the range of motion available at each joint. Further, if the position required to be assumed by the joint requires a significant muscle ennervation, there is a biochemical disadvantage to the human in that this high level of ennervation leads to perceptions of fatigue, pain and other distractions from the required task.
Viewing such a physiological arrangement from the standpoint of movement mechanics, it is evident that in the normal typing position, the upper arms extend essentially vertically downward, the lower arms are in a substantially horizontal attitude, and the hands move in a horizontal plane in arcs which extend outward from imaginary centers through the wrist joint of the operator. In other words, if the hands are placed next to one another near the center of the operator's abdomen, an effort to move the hands away from the operator in a horizontal plane while the upper arms remain substantially vertically downward would result in two symmetrical arcs which begin at the front center of the operator and extend radially away from the operator in opposite directions. Such arcs represent natural motion paths of human hands. By involving the lower arms, the movement of the hands as carried at the other end of the lower arms will also be arcuate, but with a larger radii extending outward from an imaginary centerline through the elbows. If the upper arms are vertically downward, this centerline also runs through the shoulder joint as well. However, if it is desired that the hands track a straight horizontal line extending across the front of the operator, parallel to the rows of keys, it is clear that such motion cannot be achieved by either simple wrist pivoting or by simple elbow pivoting. Neither can it be achieved by any combination of the two. Instead a compensating motion must be provided by a flexing the fingers, such flexing motion being not merely for convenience in the operating the keys, and not merely for reaching keys on adjacent rows, but rather to compensate for the physiological incapability of the wrist and/or lower arm pivoting to track such a keyboard alignment.
Alternatively, or in combination, the compensation may be provided by a motion of altering the upper arm position, or shrugging the whole shoulder joint upward. This type of motional compensation changes the planes of rotation of the wrist and elbows, and can result in an awkward backward rotation of the upper arm away from the torso. In either case, depending on the physical style of the operator, the shoulder muscles must either hold the upper arms backward and outward or compress them inwardly, and the wrists must compensate for such motion by further lateral angles, increasing the potential for cramping by forcing positions away from the most relaxed and effective muscle-neutral position.
The extent of such contortions and compensations in the arm, shoulder, and wrist joints and muscle systems varies with the particular physiology of each operator, and to a large extent, with the relative width of the operator with respect to the width of the keyboard. For a given keyboard size, the wider the operator's shoulder joint separation is compared to the width of the keyboard, the greater are the muscle forces which must be applied to achieve the required articulations and compensations. To reduce the necessity for using these unfortunate patterns of contraction and compensation, it has been found that a typical muscle-neutral position, i.e., the muscle position which unlocks the shoulder girdle, is that position which allows the operator to extend the forearms forward and straight out at a distance apart which approximates that of the width of the shoulder joints.
In at least one known arrangement, a pair of keyboard sections are arranged on relatively long supports in an orientation whereby the hands of the operator hang in a relaxed manner at the operator's side. In other known arrangements, the position of the keyboard sections is adjustable with respect to an operator's chair, which is provided with arm supports which help to reduce fatigue and tension.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improved keyboard arrangement whereby the muscle tensions which are experienced by operators of convention equipment are reduced to a minimum. Such a reduction in muscle tension will allow an operator of the equipment to achieve improved efficiency during the working day with less distress from distorted musculature.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved keyboard arrangement without deviating from a standard keyboard layout, such as that which is known as the "QWERTY" keyboard as pioneered by Sholes/Christopher, and others. The use of a standard keyboard layout will permit the advantages of increased efficiency without the need for extensive retraining of the operator to a non-standard keyboard layout. Of course, the present invention is not limited in its utility to the standard QWERTY keyboard layout, and it is therefore an object to improve information input keyboards which are arranged under different conventions, such as the Dvorak keyboard layout.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved keyboard arrangement having a position which can be adjusted so as to be individually optimized to, and by, each operator thereof. In this manner, each operator can maximize his or her comfort during operation of the equipment, and minimize operator fatigue, as by readjusting the particular typing position geometry over a long business day.
It is also an object of this invention to correct misinput of information when fingers are displaced from home row positions.
It is a yet further object of the invention to provide a transitional position and adjustment of the keyboard from the present familiar conventional keyboard arrangement to an optimized, by optional, arrangement so as to provide a bridge for gradual and non-threatening relearning by an operator, and one which can be accepted without undue learning since the familiar keyboard configuration that is perceived by the operator as being safe and non-challenging can be regained by the operator at any time.
It is a problem that the subjective feel of a keyboard is a significant factor in determining whether a given keyboard can be used successfully for information input, and that the tactile feedback character of the keyboard, and the stability of chosen geometric arrangement of keyboard components, are both important determinants of whether stress is reduced significantly over long periods of inputting information.
It is, therefore, a yet further object of this invention to provide a satisfactory non-visual feedback sensation to the operator indicative of home row key positions at the operator's fingertips, and also to provide visual indication of the identity of other-than-home-row keys which are usable when the keyboard components are oriented in a non-horizontal position.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide a compact and stable means for achieving and holding the particular adjustments of keyboard segments when adjusted by the operator so that the mechanical rigidity, as reflected in the subjective feel when depressing ones of the keys on the keyboard, is substantially unchanged from the rigidity generally associated with the resting of the keyboard on a flat horizontal surface, such as a desktop.
It is a further problem with known business systems, particularly word processing systems where an operator must input information provided from sheets of copy so that the inputted information is presented on a display screen or printed on a page, that the repeated transferring of the operator's eyes between the input copy sheet and the output display page or screen causes visual fatigue. Such fatigue is believed to result from the fact that the operator is required to adjust the focus of his or her eyes and, perhaps, the vertical position of the head for each such transferrence of vision locale. In addition, when the input copy sheet is placed to one side or the other of the keyboard the operator must certainly rotate the head for each such vision locale transferrence.
It is therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide a system whereby an operator can enter information into an information processing machine while minimizing the fatigue which is produced as a result of highly repetitive visual refocussing, a difficulty that often grows worse with increasing age as eye focussing and head-rotating muscles operate more slowly over decreased ranges of response.
It is yet another object of this invention to reduce substantially muscle fatigue which is produced by repeated turning of the neck of the operator between the position of the input copy sheet and the output display medium, and so that such change of vision locale is accomplished by only vertical head movements, and that such vertical head motion is minimized.
It is still another object of this invention to permit and facilitate portable site operation of information input equipment by utilizing the sectional aspect of the keyboard, wherein portability is encouraged by reducing certain dimensions of the equipment in which the keyboard is placed, notably portable word processors and terminals.
It is a yet still further object of this invention to provide a word processor configuration for a portable information input terminal which utilizes a sectional keyboard, and which optimizes the hereinbefore stated human factors aspects for operator comfort and efficiency at such portable sites, without a significant reduction in transportability.